I chose my primary care physician because a friend recommended her. Sure, other factors came into play. I like the hospital the doctor is affiliated with and her office is conveniently located near my office, but what set her apart from all of the other physicians in the area is that a good friend said she was friendly and thorough.
It's not very scientific, but that's how millions of people make decisions each day. And in the age of sleek TV ads and multifunctional apps, it's easy to forget how valuable word-of-mouth marketing truly is.
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The main benefit of word-of-mouth marketing is that it speeds up decision-making, says Bill Gombeski, director of strategic marketing for UK HealthCare in Lexington, KY.
"It helps patients and families decide where they want to go and to make a choice between options," he says. "We've found that word-of-mouth really sends a lot of patients to our organization."
In fact, an internal UK HealthCare survey found that two-thirds of its patients have talked to someone else who has had an experience with the organization and has said something positive about it.
Another one-third of UK HealthCare patients said word-of-mouth is the most influential factor in their decision making process when choosing a healthcare provider.
1. Leverage your employees
In April 2011 UK HealthCare launched a Runners Clinic, a monthly multidisciplinary clinic that offers a variety of evaluations and therapy geared toward enhancing speed and efficiency as well as preventing or treating injuries commonly associated with running.
Since the service line appeals to a large, active niche group, Gombeski knew he had to be creative about getting the word out. He started by making sure UK HealthCare employees knew about the clinic.
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"We especially made sure that the doctors who run knew about it," he says. "The Runners Clinic itself consists of several doctors and physical therapists who all run."
Once the staff was informed of the clinics capabilities and benefits, they could begin to tell their family members, friends, and patients who run.
In fact, Dr. Lattermann, an orthopedic surgeon working at the clinic, posted about its services on his website.
2. Employ social media strategically
Social media can be extremely effective in generating positive word-of-mouth buzz, but it must be done thoughtfully. Simply tweeting and posting status updates to Facebook isn't going to influence patients.
Hospitals must engage in meaningful conversations online in order to drive patients to their organization or a particular service line.
UK HealthCare, which has more than 19,000 Twitter followers, successfully accomplished this with the Runners Clinic. In August 2011, the organization retweeted a tweet from University of Kentucky mentioning the clinic.
Retweeting and responding to tweets mentioning your organization and its service lines is an effective way of letting followers know that other people think your hospital is pretty great, too.
3. Seek local connections and partnerships
UK Healthcare also made a point to let local runners groups and athletic companies know about the clinic.
For example, after Gombeski and his team reached out to local organizations footwear store John's Run/Walk Shop wrote about the new clinic in its newsletter and the president of a Lexington runner's club discussed it on the club's website.
As a result of these three word-of-mouth marketing efforts UK HealthCare found that 60% of patients in the first three months came from word-of-mouth referrals, usually from another runner.
"The reason [patients are] using word-out-mouth to make the decision is healthcare can be very complex," Gomeski says. "You want your procedure done at the hospital that has the best outcomes, but sometimes the advice of people you trust—like friends, family, a nurse, or a doctor—matters more and you're much more likely to use that information to make your decision. It happens so much that if you're not capitalizing on it, you're losing out on helping your patients choose you for their care."
Marianne Aiello is a contributing writer at HealthLeaders Media.